Carrier fees for delivering items can vary unpredictably. Rates can change based upon regulatory changes, such as for postage rates for the United States Postal Service (USPS) or other national carriers. Rates can also change based upon business considerations, such as the competitive environment, fuel costs and other externalities. For example, private carriers such as United Parcel Service and Federal Express can respond to changes in such conditions by changing their rates.
Rates can be set based upon various factors (hereinafter, “rate factors”), including, without limitation, the weight and shape (physical dimensions) of the item to be delivered, the class of service (e.g., first-class, second-class, etc.), the distance between the sender and the recipient (e.g., the zones systems used by United Parcel Service and Federal Express), additional services rendered (return receipt requested, delivery verification, insurance, etc.), the type of item to be delivered (e.g., hazardous, fragile, etc.), customs duties, etc., or any combination thereof. Rates are often embodied in a rate table (also known as a rate schedule) that correlates a cost of delivery with such rate factors. An example of a rate table is shown in FIG. 1, which shows the retail cost of mailing first-class letters in various weight ranges using the USPS.
Metered Mail allows customers to prepare items to be mailed without affixing traditional postage in the form of stamps. Carrier customers can be provided with a mailing machine having a meter, generally a Postal Security Device (PSD). The meter is typically leased to customers who may purchase postage via a corresponding account linked to the meter. Postage may be loaded in the PSD via a service provider infrastructure. Once loaded with prepaid postage, the PSD may be used to print indicia on items to be mailed indicating that postage has been paid. The mailing machine that is processing the flow of mailpieces can store a rate table. The amount of postage can be determined based upon the rate table stored at the mailing machine. When the quantity of postage remaining in the PSD runs low, customers may purchase additional postage from the service provider, after which the service provider may load the PSD with the additional postage.
The format of the indicia printed on a mailpiece is typically standardized. The printed form of the indicia can be a machine readable bar code containing several pieces of information, including, e.g., a serial number identifying the PSD and vendor which generated the indicium, a mailpiece count value, the present value of an ascending register, and/or the present value of a descending register in the PSD. The ascending register is retained in the PSD memory that stores a value that represents the total amount of postage metered by the PSD using, for example, postage credits over its lifetime. The ascending register value begins at zero and is incremented by the value of postage associated with each piece of mail processed. The descending register is retained in the PSD memory that stores a value that represents the total amount of postage credits currently loaded in the PSD. The descending register is set when the PSD is loaded with postage funds and is decremented as each piece of mail is processed until no postage finds remain. The descending register may be increased again when the PSD is refilled with additional postage funds. The mailpiece count value can sequentially identify each mailpiece processed by a particular PSD.
The mailing machine can download data that defines the rate table. The mailing machine uses the data defining the rate table to automatically ensure that the correct amount of postage funds (as reflected in the value stored in the PSD's descending register) are disbursed and encoded in an indicium for each given mailpiece based upon its rate factors. When postal rates change, new data defining a new rate table can be downloaded to the mailing machine.
Changes in carrier rates can pose significant financial risks to the carriers' customers, particularly those who send large volumes of mail. For example, the amount of money spent by companies that mail large volumes of monthly bills can amount to millions of dollars per year. Even small fluctuations in carrier rates can wreak havoc with such customers' budgets. What is needed is a system and method for mitigating the financial risk to customers of changing carrier rates.